James Huffman Bagpiper from Waxhaw, NC

Hello! My name is Jim Huffman and I am a bagpiper based in the Charlotte Metro area. I am a retired firefighter and have been piping events since 2002. As a Pipe Major of the Fire Department Pipes and Drums, planning and performing events was a regular occurrence. As well as playing major events for police, fire, military and other formal events. private events were also performed often. My piping began to expand and I played more and more private events, weddings and funerals. I am also former military having been enlisted in the United States Marine Corp as well as the U.S. Air Force. My experiences in all of these areas of military and fire careers gave me first hand knowledge of ceremonies, precision, protocol as well as just performance experience that was applied often to the next events being able to add to those events, adding flare and a touch of class. I have performed weddings on major colleges and churches well as smaller venues on beaches and other outdoor settings. I am very flexible as events can change at the last minute and experience makes adapting to those situations more possible. As part of the Fire Dept. Pipes and Drums, we played NASCAR's Coca Cola 600 race at Charlotte Motor Speedway annually for their Memorial weekend race. Playing in front over 130,000 fans as well as being televised around the world is a wonderful experience that makes play major events that much more exciting, making me look forward to the next event! I am a very interactive performer and I work to make an event the best that it can be!. I have a vast amount of knowledge from previous events that can be applied to future events, helping to make them even more special! The biggest thing that I have learned is that one needs to be flexible when planning an event, even up to the last moment and being able to do that, as well as play the tunes very sweetly and excitedly are key to making any event special and successful!